[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 146 (Tuesday, September 4, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF LORI YARRISH

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 4, 2018

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in recognizing Lori Yarrish, who passed on 
August 6, 2018, for her lifetime of outstanding work in the arts and 
her contributions to the cultural development of the District of 
Columbia.
  Lori served as director of the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum 
since December 2017, after having served as its acting director since 
June 2016. Lori implemented a new mission statement and brought with 
her an innovative leadership model that transformed the Museum's 
outreach and collaborative partnerships with the community. Lori was 
instrumental in revitalization efforts for the Anacostia Community 
Museum, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with the 
exhibition ``Your Community, Your Story: Celebrating Five Decades of 
the Anacostia Community Museum.''
  Lori embraced and advanced the Museum's unique role in the community 
and, in October 2017, was named by Washingtonian magazine as one of 
Washington, D.C.'s most powerful women in the arts.
  Prior to her work with the Anacostia Community Museum, Lori was with 
the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the Maryland 
Commission on African American History and Culture's Banneker-Douglass 
Museum, the National Building Museum, the Capital Children's Museum and 
the B'nai B'rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum.
  A classically trained dancer, Lori also served on the board of 
directors at the New School of Dance and Arts in Washington, D.C. and 
on the coordinating committee for the Smithsonian American Women's 
History Initiative.
  My grief for the loss of Lori is also personal because she was my 
cousin.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in 
recognizing Lori Yarrish on the occasion of her passing and for her 
lasting contributions to the arts, the Smithsonian, the Anacostia 
Community Museum and the District of Columbia.

                          ____________________